WHAT IS REAL ID?

In 2005, Congress approved the Real ID Act, which set out minimum security standards for federally accepted state-issued identification cards, including driver’s licenses. To meet Real ID requirements, the law requires states to accept only certain types of secondary identification to prove applicants identity, to issue the identification only to citizens or other legal residents and to keep digital and paper copies of underlying identification documents.

Before the federal law, states had their own, often differing standards for driver’s licenses and ID cards. The Real ID Act sets minimum standard for what the federal government will accept.

Although Real ID identification is required already for some federal purposes — particularly military bases, nuclear plants and other federal facilities — it is not yet needed to get through federal security at airports.

SO WHEN WILL I NEED REAL ID TO FLY?

The 2005 federal initial law said: “Beginning 3 years after the date of the enactment of this division, a federal agency may not accept, for any official purpose, a driver’s license or identification card issued by a state to any person unless the State is meeting the requirements of this section.” That deadline, though, has been pushed back and pushed back.

Eventually, federal officials said they would phase in the Real ID requirements for different purposes over time. But citizens will not need Real ID-compliant proof of identity until after 2016.

Eventually, in January 2016, the Department of Homeland Security said: “Starting January 22, 2018, passengers with a driver’s license issued by a state that is still not compliant with the Real ID Act (and has not been granted an extension) will need to show an alternative form of acceptable identification for domestic air travel to board their flight.”

Holders with licenses from states with extensions will still be able to use their regular, non-Real ID-compliant licenses through 2020.

WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE MINNESOTANS?

Except for Enhanced Driver’s Licenses (more on those later), Minnesota does not issue Real ID-compliant licenses. Some Minnesotans may have other identification the federal government finds acceptable, including passports and military identification.

WHY DOESN’T MINNESOTA ALREADY ISSUE REAL ID LICENSES?

Back in 2008 and 2009, Minnesota lawmakers had many concerns about the Real ID law. They feared that the federal law would create a de facto national ID card and could allow tracking of state citizens. They also objected to the federal government dictating to Minnesota or other states about the rules of issuing state identification. Twice — in 2008 and in 2009 — the House and Senate voted to ban Real ID from coming to Minnesota. In 2008, then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill containing the ban. In 2009, after all but one member of the 201-member Legislature voted to approve the ban again, Pawlenty signed the ban into law.

And between 2009 and 2016, Minnesota, by law, could not plan for or implement Real ID standards.

BUT WHAT ABOUT ENHANCED DRIVERS LICENSES?

For several years Minnesota has issued so-called Enhanced Driver’s Licenses. These are special, slightly more expensive licenses that are available only from certain state locations, unlike regular licenses, which can be obtained all over the state. To get an enhanced license, Minnesotans have to jump through extra security hoops. They serve as a driving permit and allow holders to use their license, rather than a passport, to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.

About 26,000 Minnesotans hold enhanced licenses, with many applying in recent months as fervor heated up over Real ID. Why? Because enhanced licenses, unlike regular Minnesota licenses, are Real ID-compliant, according to the state and federal government.

Even if Minnesota adopts the Real ID requirements from the federal government, enhanced driver’s licenses will continue to be valid and the state is planning to continue issuing them because they serve a different purpose from Real ID licenses.

WHAT HAPPENED THIS YEAR?

Remember how the federal government said it would not require Real ID for flying before 2016? Well, in 2015 Minnesotans, including Minnesota leaders, noticed that 2016 would soon be here. And Minnesotans would be without Real ID driver’s licenses.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES?

There are two major differences.

Timing

The House measure would have the state start issuing Real ID driver’s licenses in October 2016. The Senate would have the state wait until 2018 to start issuing.

State agency officials have said it would cost $5 million or more extra to develop the new licenses later this year and, given that they are working with an old computer system, a quick turn-around could cause problems.

On the flip side, if the state didn’t start issuing Real ID licenses until 2018, it may be cheaper, but some Minnesotans could need to get a new license before their four-year expiration date in order to get a Real ID.

Immigrants

The House measure would specifically bar undocumented immigrants from getting the non-Real ID-compliant licenses (the Real ID licenses, by federal law, are only available to citizens and people with a legal right to be in the country.

The Senate version is silent on that subject.

While some fear that without that language the governor’s administration could usher in driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, Dayton said Minnesota law does not allow him to do that without legislative OK. Several other states allow people who are not in the country legally to obtain driver’s licenses, largely because people believe more licensed (and insured) drivers will mean safer roads for all.

HAVE OTHER STATES FIGURED THIS REAL ID THING OUT?

Most states either have adopted the Real ID rules or have an extension to adopt them.

WHY DON’T WE HAVE AN EXTENSION?

Minnesota has asked the Homeland Security Agency twice — and both times the agency has declined the request. The first time, it said that because Minnesota had a law prohibiting planning for Real ID and had made no effort to adopt the requirements of the federal law, the request was declined. In May, the federal government refused again because Minnesota still had a law that forbid implementing the Real ID law.

Rachel E. Stassen-Berger was a Minnesota Capitol reporter for the Pioneer Press from 2001 to 2009 and again from 2015 to 2017.

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“The House measure would specifically bar undocumented immigrants from getting the non-Real ID-compliant licenses (the Real ID licenses, by federal law, are only available to citizens and people with a legal right to be in the country.” – WHY is someone here illegally able to get any ID?

James Marusak

let’s see. there’s underage people getting them for booze in college. and the people who make those ID’s probably branched out into the illegal community.

as for why anyone can get an ID, there’s a “Taxpayer ID” that anyone can get if they do anything like banking or other financial transactions. and that is paralleled on the SS #. so states can issue other ID’s if the person has at least a federal “taxpayer ID” to keep track of them. but the taxpayer ID’s are coded as such so that it is known if the person is a citizen or not.

Jon Jay

It has been against federal law since 1986 for a business to hire
foreign citizens who are in this country illegally. This law was
designed to protect the wages and incomes of the citizens of this
country. Employers who violate that law are crooks, taking money out of the pockets of citizens just as surely as burglars, pick-pockets,flim-flam artists and robbers.

The fact that E-Verify is a system that can stop most of the wage/income thievery has long been well known.

The Supreme Court has ruled that states can mandate that employers use E-Verify to keep illegal migrants from obtaining jobs — and that states can take away an employer’s business license for failing to use E-Verify properly.

The only thing stopping state legislatures from mandating E-Verify is their insistence that employers retain the ability to continue to break federal law by engaging in the wage/income theft that occurs by hiring illegal migrants.

Yes, they arecrooks. And yes, those state legislatures are committed to protecting the crooks who also harm the vast majority of employers who don’t want to break immigration laws.

In January 2008, Governor Tim Pawlenty issued an executive order requiring E-Verify use by all state agencies and companies seeking a state contract in excess of $50,000. The executive order expired 90 days after Pawlenty left office but a state budget deal subsequently reinstated the state contractor requirement effective July 20, 2011.

Toofcap

Socialist European countries all have national ID cards. The liberal left would tarnish their credentials as communist cheerleaders by blocking Real ID.

I-am-N

The issue then is that illegal immigrant voters would not be able to get it.

gmag39

What a willfully ignorant nitwit… Don’t you have some (prank) calls to make supporting Don Trump? Be sure to tell them, ‘Good Evening, My name is Toofcap’…

permalink

“Socialist European countries all have national ID cards”

The Europeans have had this requirement for years, but that doesn’t mean we need to adopt that same requirement.

If one has ever visited Europe you would realize it is a bit different there than say a Minnesotan visiting Iowa. Ask a Frenchman what he thinks of Germans, or Austrian vs Italian, one time and see what that reply will be…

James Marusak

and why the owners of the Pioneer press aren’t contacting your site and suing the people you represent for planting advertising without paying for it, I don’t know. I’m sure they would like the bucks from it, since you’re taking up valuable space that could be used for actual germane comments.

SouthernGuy

“To meet Real ID requirements, the law requires states to accept only certain types of secondary identification to prove applicants identity, to issue the identification only to citizens or other legal residents and to keep digital and paper copies of underlying identification documents.”

Aye, there’s the rub.

Real ID requirements would pinpoint ILLEGALS!! and in The People’s Republic of Minnesota that’s a mortal sin.

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